NEW DELHI, INDIA — In an attempt to curb rising domestic food prices, India announced this week that it will release 5 million tonnes of wheat and 2.5 million tonnes of rice from its government stockpile to bulk consumers such as flour millers, Reuters reported.

India plays an important role in the supply-and-demand picture as the world’s second-largest producer and second-largest consumer of wheat and rice, considered the two most important food grains in developing countries.

Wheat prices in New Delhi have jumped 12% in the past four months to 25,174 rupees ($303.85) per tonne, the highest in nearly six months, in part due to volatile weather conditions, Reuters reported, citing government officials.

Global wheat prices have stabilized in recent days after initially soaring when Russia announced on July 17 that it was withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed Ukraine, a top wheat exporter, to export grain safely through the Black Sea. The two countries have been at war since February 2022.

The Indian government announced last week that it was considering cutting or even abolishing a 40% import tax on wheat and lowering a limit on the amount of wheat stocks millers and traders can hold, according to Reuters.

India also has banned exports of non-basmati rice, which, along with weather problems in key production regions around the world, has contributed to a recent surge in global rice prices. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s All Rice Price Index jumped by nearly 3% in July to its highest level since 2011 at 129.7 points, up nearly 20% from July 2022.

India is the world’s largest exporter of rice, accounting for 40% of world trade.

Rough rice futures for September delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade stood at just over $16 per cwt as of Aug. 9, a sharp increase from $14.70 in May.